WILLIAM UTTERBACK (1931 - 2010)
William Utterback truly embodies the idea of a mentor. Anyone who shares the privilege of his influence is fortunate.
Bill is one of the artists from American illustration’s golden age who kept the traditional practice of drawing and painting alive during the twentieth century. Bill studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art before going on to study with Joseph Henninger at The Art Center in the 1940s, when art schools still taught traditional drawing and painting. Best known as one of the pioneer illustrators for Playboy in the 1970's, he is also the official illustrator for Chicago’s Second City drama group (their building lobby is wallpapered with his work), and a great portrait painter. I have the privilege of knowing him as a committed mentor and a great guy.
I have always been impressed by Bill's selfless approach to teaching. Bill gives of his time almost without limit, because he likes to. When I was under his instruction, he would call me up with a list of things he wanted to make sure I understood that had come to him throughout the week, and we would talk for an hour about edges in painting.
I first met Bill as an undergraduate student at Wheaton College. I wandered into the local DuPage Art League, where our mutual interests in caricature and portraiture drew us together.
Taking informal lessons from a former Playboy illustrator while I was attending a private Christian university seemed taboo, but the lessons I learned were invaluable. Bill’s guidance filled in a lot of holes in my understanding of drawing and painting at the time. I learned the importance of a background, how to use a mirror, and began the discipline of painting from life. I gained insight into the long and tedious work to which a career artist is dedicated. Bill introduced me the writings of Andrew Loomis and inspired me with his appreciation for all things John Singer Sargent.
Bill to this day often calls me up with a new insight into painting that he is boiling over to share with me, to which I listen and still learn things. His unending love for the effect of light in paint is contageous, and he has just about the greatest sense of humor of anyone I know.
My
Mentors
Ed Julian
Gary Fasen
Bill Utterback
Ron DiCianni
Jered Woznicki
Michael John Angel